LulzSec hacker suspect arrested by FBI and Scotland Yard

It looks like the reign of terror that LulzSec, the international computer hacking group, will come to an end as a British teenager who is suspected of being behind the planning of the attacks that has effected the likes of Sony and Nintendo, has been arrested.

19-year-old Ryan Cleary was apprehended in a joint operation between Scotland Yard and the FBI. The arrest came after the group claimed to have hacked and taken down the US Central Intelligence Agency’s website. Apparently that website was a requested target as LulzSec had opened a hotline in which their fans could call in and suggest other targets the group could attack next. After having attacked CIA.gov the group boasted on Twitter: “Tango down – CIA.gov – for the lulz”

The FBI and Scotland Yard immediately launched an investigation and the result was Yesterday’s arrest occurring at the teen’s home in Wickford, Essex.

LulzSec caught the attention of the media when they manage to attack Sony and steal private information. This lead to the PlayStation Network having to be shutdown and costing Sony millions as they attempted to repair the damage. LulzSec’s “success” made them grow bolder and hey attacked other video game websites such as Nintendo, Bethesda, Minecraft, League of Legends, The Escapist and EVE Online.

The group seemed to be somewhat unstoppable but now it looked like they bit off more then they could chew as their attacks on the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, the public-facing site of the US Senate and the CIA has backfired.

If Ryan Cleary is found to have a part with LulzSec he could be sent off to America to face trial under the Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act.

Whenever this will stop, slow down or just make LulzSec more vicious remains to be seen. For the video game medium as a whole, hopefully we’ll see the former.

LulzSec hacker suspect arrested by FBI and Scotland Yard was last modified: June 21st, 2011 by Gabriel May